Shadowy Existence
by rhead-a-holyc
Summary: Abandoned and lost in a forest, Draco needs to find a way to survive. Dark themes.


His chest and legs burned from the exertion. Draco's eyes were wide as they flew from one corner of his vision to the other, occasionally slowing down enough to chance a glance behind him. There had been footsteps behind him, a soft pattering against the tar, that he could only just hear above the sound of his breathing. He was sure it was still following him. His ears told him that he was still being pursued, while his eyes told him otherwise.

Blaise and Theo had been behind him at some point, but were no longer anywhere to be seen. They had lost each other within the dancing mist. Draco was sure they would find each other when day broke and sunlight made everything look less ominous, although he had no idea how long it was until then. Fumbling for his wand in his robes, Draco attempted to brighten the surrounding area so he would have some idea of where he was going, but cursed when he realised the mist was too thick. The light of his wand only gave him a couple of feet of light before it gave into the darkness.

Draco waited for a few minutes, wondering if his stupidity of needing light would get him killed. Surely whatever it was that was chasing him would have noticed the light and headed straight for him, but, to Draco's relief, no dark-cloaked figure appeared. He sighed, chalking up the shuffling he had heard to his mind playing tricks on him. There was a slight wind, after all, so it could simply be leaves moving along the ground.

Adrenaline dying down, Draco could feel the chilly cold of the wind sweeping through his body. Recasting the warming charm was futile as it wore off within minutes. With furiously chattering teeth, Draco walked towards the distant shadow that tapered off with the shape of a roof, hoping to find some sort of shelter for the night. It was the only shape in the distance that did not resemble a tree, and, despite everything, Draco was a _Malfoy_ and Malfoys did not sleep in trees.

No circumstance would change that.

Draco tapped on the door as he reached it. He couldn't feel his hands, only the light tingling feeling he got when his hand hit the heavy wood of the door. Draco rubbed his hands together furiously as the door slowly creaked open, bathing him in an entirely pleasant warmth. He invited himself into the building immediately, ignoring the fact that there may have been someone standing at the door to question him. The door creaked shut. Draco turned around but didn't see anyone near the door.

"Hello? Is there anyone there?"

Draco nearly smacked himself at the stupid question, the fire was lit so there had to be _someone_ within the house. His right hand stayed close to where his wand rested (he had hidden it as he approached the house) in case there was something hostile nearby. With everything that had happened already, Draco knew he could never be too cautious tonight, even with his paranoia running at an all-time high where his brain seemed to enjoy tricking him.

Despite trying to be careful, the crunch of something under Draco's foot told him that he wasn't as successful as he would had liked. Whatever it was on the floor could have been something the owner of this house had dropped by mistake. It could be a prized possession, and Draco didn't want to be kicked out into the cold again, but neither would he like to be caught for showing muggles magic existed. The latter would probably have more lasting effects than the former.

The mantelpiece suddenly chimed, startling Draco. A low mechanical hum filled the room as a demented yellow bird was thrust violently out of the mantelpiece twelve times. With a dull shock, Draco noticed that the bird had a splash of red on its beak and only had one menacing eye, the other looking like it had been gorged out by some sharp object. The strange flickering of the light made the little bird look alive, but Draco knew that wasn't possible. That didn't stop him from taking a few steps back, though.

The whirring didn't stop, even after the twelfth chime had faded. The bird was left hanging on the spring, staring at him with a demonic expression. Draco convinced himself that the little flash of red in the bird's eye was nothing more than a bit of the fire's colours reflected onto the glassy eye. It would not do for him to get himself into a panic over nothing.

The fire was dying down when Draco finally decided that he had waited long enough. The dying flames taunted him as the last shreds of light disappeared, allowing darkness to envelop him once again. Hastily fumbling his way to where he remembered an old staircase to be, he noticed a small candle providing a meagre light to the staircase. It was sufficient to ensure that he wouldn't trip and harm himself, and nothing more.

Starting to believe the house was actually empty, despite the signs otherwise, Draco took his first step up the stairs only to hear a terrible creaking sound coming from the stair. It was only when Draco put a little more weight on the stair that he realised just how fragile the staircase really was. It would probably only last a few more journeys through it. Draco itched to summon one of the Malfoy house elves to clean and fix the place. It wasn't a Malfoy property, though, so there was nothing he could do without the express permission of the owner, or owners, of this place.

Draco heard a slight shuffling at the top of the stairs, and, despite his misgivings, hurried up the crumbling staircase. He wasn't sure where the desire to see another human stemmed from, but it felt important after the darkness and solitude he had been surrounded by. Draco had almost never been alone, except for the odd time when he had been upset in his bedroom. That had been willingly, and he had been safe in his bed within the manor with the knowledge that his parents were nearby.

There was that shuffling again, but no shadows moved within the only two rooms that occupied the upper section of the house. Draco's eyes furrowed. He was certain that he had heard movement, and if it hadn't come from another human, what could have made that noise?

Curiosity got the better of him as he approached the doors where the noise had come from. The door swung open, surprisingly without a sound, and Draco peeked in quickly before ducking back out in case something came at him. Silence filled the room as the shuffling suddenly stopped.

The windowless room was filled with toys of various sizes. It was odd. The room was neat, too neat. The toys too clean. It was as if someone really had been in there, but there were layers of dust that covered the floor, broken only by what looked like footprints that were no larger than pebbles. Hundreds of glaring eyes stared down at him from the shelves stuffed animals, soldiers, and clowns called their home.

"Danger. Danger. Danger," a tanned pull-string doll repeated slowly from its position on the centre of the floor. Its realistically painted blue eyes stared blankly into Draco's. The doll felt silent as the string snapped back into place.

His hands were sliding into place, ready to pull the sting again when the door creaked shut. The doll fell to the floor roughly, head being dislodged with the impact and rolling to stop at the feet of a large brown teddy bear who now stood in front of the previously open door. The bear's mouth was wide with a toothy smile that brought no comfort.

Draco looked around wearily. Somehow the toys seemed to be leaning forward slightly, almost eager, but Draco didn't know what for. Draco hoped it was just a trick of his mind but his wand slipped into his hand nevertheless, no longer caring about the possibility of muggles. He'd much rather be alive.

The door clicked, causing Draco to flinch. The sound was abnormally loud in the silent room. Draco took a step back only to hear the crunch of breaking wood from the toy he had dropped earlier. A quick glance down told him that there was very little left of the broken toy. The doll's head rolling back towards his foot was the only indication Draco got that the bear was moving because when he looked up again the bear was as still as it had been before, if a bit further from the door then Draco remembered it to be.

Draco gripped his wand tighter, before cracking and shooting a stunning spell at the advancing bear. To his shock, the spell ricocheted off the bear and straight to where he was standing. He dodged, allowing the spell to hit one of the toy soldiers behind him. Draco was startled when he saw the toy blink slowly, then hop of the counter as if the stunner had woken him.

"Please let this be a dream," Draco muttered, cursing the fact that there were no window or other exits from the room. Fairing against the weather outside seemed like a much better idea right about then.

The mechanical whirring started again. This time the sound was much louder than it had been before. Draco sent out several other spells and curses at the menacing bear, only to awaken other toys that slowly began to surround him while the bear watched on.

Soldier. Dinosaur. Lion. Gnome. Soldier. Dinosaur. Lion. Gnome.

They circled him, like vultures: waiting, but doing nothing. They shared no resemblance to each other with the exception of the glowing red eyes. He was reminded of the Dark Lord every time he caught sight of those monstrous eyes.

The bear moved closer. The sight of the door gave Draco hope. The toys may have been enchanted against magic, but that didn't mean the door was. The door would have had to be specifically charmed _after_ he had entered, or there was someone else in the house with him.

Draco didn't know whether that made him feel better or worse.

The gnome was the most unsteady of the toys that surrounded him, but it was also the largest. So Draco waited until the bear was close enough that there was enough space to fit through the door is he managed to get past the bear. It only took moments before the lion was between him and the bear again.

The unlocking charm missed the bear and hit the lock easily. The bear's grin broadened as it took another step forward, no longer masking its movement. Knowing there was only a small window period, Draco ran into the gnome and slid through the claws of the bear. It sounded like the gnome crashed on some of the toys but Draco didn't spare the time to look. The door jerked open and Draco made sure to drag the door closed behind him. He didn't know how much magic those toys held, or if they were able to leave the room, but Draco took a moment to lock the door behind him before racing down the stairs.

The door was rattling dangerously. The sound was making its way down the stairs, easily feeding Draco's ears with fear. He slammed into a large body at the bottom of the stairs. The splintering wood of the staircase dug into his back roughly, forcing a hiss of pain from between his lips. His wand clattered on the staircase, rolling into some dark and dusty corner.

Gleaming red eyes met his. A fixed smile greeted him from the top of a mountainous body. There was no way past this figure, Draco could tell that it served no other purpose than to block the staircase. A gloved hand reached for him, and he scrambled up the stairs only for several to give away under him.

Draco screamed.

And screamed.

And screamed.

"Draco?" the voice was soothing as he fell through the neverending darkness of the abyss. "Wake up, my dragon."

Draco. That was him. Or at least he thought so.

The voice reminded him of a place that sounded like childish laughter and felt like endless hope. He clung onto the feeling, hoping that it never went away. Bad things happened when that voice disappeared. He remembered that. The voice reminded him of a warmth protection that caused a deep ache in his chest. The darkness was lightening.

Black.

Grey.

White.

There were hands on his shoulders. A dishevelled blonde woman stood over him. Her eyes were tired, but a smile still lit her face. Draco guessed she had been a beauty when she was younger. He didn't know who she was, but she seemed to know him. She was often at his bedside, talking about things he couldn't really understand.

His throat burned harshly, and, instantly, a cool glass was placed at his lips. His breathing was still heavy, and large amounts of water spilled around him, melding with the salty liquid that already covered his body. Warm blue eyes met his, pain and helplessness lingered in their depths, but there was no lack of hope or determination. As the world faded around him once more, the last thing he saw were those eyes.

 **Written for Quidditch League: Wigtown Wanderers - Captain [Horror]**

 **Written for Game of Life: weight**

 **Written for History of Magic Assignment 11: Write about darkness in any form**


End file.
